Ryobi AP-12 #1: Blades

My dad purchased a Ryobi AP-12 from Menards years ago.. maybe about 15 years ago. He gave it to me about 5 years ago and I have not used it too much. I just did not find a need for it until this project. So, I started it up, and started to feed a panel and nothing too much happened. Slow, no chips, nothing but a lot of noise.

So, I took a look at the cutting blades and found them to be completely dull. No problem, I will head off to Menards to by a replacement set. Except they no longer sell them. Or Home Depot. Next stop: Amazon. I can get a third party replacement for $30.. and I might still do that. But then I remembered that there’s a tool room where I work. So I went down there, and they started the process:

The base is an electromagnet, and automatically moves from left to right until the desired amount of material has been removed. In this case, about .007”